For the past few weeks I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the power of the vote.

I realized I’ve taken it for granted. I was born in to a society where at age 18 I’d fill out a form in my high school government class and suddenly have a say in who will lead our nation. I felt the value of the vote - the privilege.

Then I got over it. Voting became something everyone does (or could). I associated voting with long lines, or a wasted ballot when I lived in states where we all knew who would win.

Seeing America through the eyes of refugees who built a new life for themselves broadened my appreciation for what I take for granted.

I saw a group of new citizens take the Oath of Citizenship and got chills when I saw their smiles. I met an aspiring politician who immigrated from Bhutan, became a U.S. citizen and ran for city council twice (He hasn’t won yet, but teaches citizenship classes in his spare time). Perhaps most striking was Leon from Congo, who escaped a war-torn country to find a new home in Clarkston. He plans to apply for citizenship as soon as he can.What they all have in common is a respect for democracy and an appreciation of the title of “American.” They weren’t born in to it. They earned it.

But have they earned the right to vote?

​In our new docu-series, They the People, we explore what one small Southern city is proposing: expanding voting rights during local elections to all citizens… even if they aren’t U.S. citizens. To me, it’s either democracy at its finest… or the most Un-American thing a city could do.